Book Talk: I Never Saw Another Butterfly

I Never Saw Another Butterfly

The Story

I Never Saw Another Butterfly is a moving collection of children's poems and drawings from the Terezin Concentration Camp. In all, 15,000 children under the age of fifteen entered the camp. Less than 100 survived. These drawings and poems were created by the children of Terezin, and through them we see haunting reminders of life in the ghetto. These drawings are all that are left of these children, most of who died before the war was over. 

I Never Saw Another Butterfly allows students to connect with the children of the Holocaust, without being too graphic or adult. It shows the holocaust to students through the eyes of children their own age, allowing them to better understand what the children of Terezin experienced by speaking through their drawings and poetry.

This resource is suitable for a wide range of grade levels, primarily 5-8.

Resources Available

I Never Saw Another Butterfly is a popular teaching tool for Holocaust education, with educational resources widely available. Check out this collection of activities based on the book and play, as well as this guide with activities for several grade ranges. Although many of these resources contain activities and guides for the play, they also incorporate lessons on the book. For resources exclusively devoted to the book, check out this website, designed by a teacher as an accompaniment to I Never Saw Another Butterfly, and this Holocaust education worksheet packet, which contains a worksheet with questions on the book to ask before and after reading.

About Me 

Leah Kuriluk is the Holocaust Education Resource Center's Library Intern. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Library and Information Science and a Certificate of Information Management at Wayne State University. Leah also has a BA in History.